Denim Experiment

[Chicken]

Thought this was an interesting denim experiment included in Lightning Magazine's first Denim Style Book:

Whose job is most respectable?

COMPANY-WIDE DENIM FADE COMPETITION

Three guys at Flathead performed this experiment few years back. One of them was the president, the other a sales rep and the last a stockist. All three of them began wearing same raw Flathead XX models the same day and kept wearing them for three years straight.

Fading depends on factors like how they're worn, how they're washed and how they're shafed. One question was which of these factors is the most important?

President Kobayashi of Flathead said, "I couldn't allow myself to lose to these guys, so I washed my jeans more frequently than the other two." But as apparent as it is in the results, washing didn't seem to make much of a difference. What's crucial in fading is abrasion. Here's a great example to illustrate that point.

[Chicken]

Entry No. 1

The President Denim

"I really put a lot of effort washing them frequently but they have the least amount of fading," commented the president. Perhaps because of countless hours spent at the desk, his butt area has a pretty decent fade. But that probably just means he doesn't move around much at all.

Pres' wallet doesn't fit in the pocket?

Usually there are wallet fades in the backpockets. So the fact that there's no wallet fade means his wallet was too thick to fit?

[Chicken]

Entry No. 2

The Sales Rep Denim

You can tell this was one hardworking staff. It's easy to imagine repeated squatting motions when you see the defined whiskers. And amazing vertical fades. Probably means the most important factor to achieve beautiful fades is by working hard and moving around a lot.

Kneeling down is also a sales rep's specialty.

By measuring the customers inseam and organizing the bottom shelves, our sales rep put his knees on the floor a lot.

[Chicken]

Entry No. 3

The Stockist Denim

Frequently carrying big boxes around the warehouse is a specialty. Perhaps because of that, the front part of his denim had faded most between the three. And did he sit around smoking cigarettes very often? The fading on the backside is also quite intense.

The fading is most intense on the staff with most physical job.

He's probably an employee who has to move around all over the place with giant boxes in his hands. We bet he's confident with his strength.

[HEWSINATOR]

More translation please. ...ooops, looks like they are coming.

Chicken, I really enjoy these translations from Lightning, jus tthought it was worth a thank you.

[Guest Phrost]

Thanks for scanning and translating the text Chicken, really enjoying it. It would be funny if there was something on the line for whoever got the best fade.

[tweeds]

the next denim reality tv show, perhaps?

it goes to show that one can hold a job that doesn't involve biking or skating and still have enough activity to give nice fades, i guess.

[Ryu]

hey Chicken !

good job !!

翻訳家ですね～～　

[Chicken]

you're welcome guys. i'm getting a lot out of these forums it feels good to give a little something back here and there. (plus i get to practice my japanese and english.)

ryu-chan ohisashiburi! we missed you. 通訳は趣味ですね。はい。

[Masako]

Excellent posts, thanks a lot Chicken.

[thelion1856]

hey chicken can u put a sign or write something in parenthesis when u do a translation thread so we can tell them apart from regular threads from now on?

maybe something like........ Denim Experiment (*magazine translation*)

much appreciated. thanks!

[watchman]

very interesting, both the sales person and the stockists fades are great. They seem not very intense for 3 years of wear though.

[Kasper]

very interesting, both the sales person and the stockists fades are great. They seem not very intense for 3 years of wear though.

i was thinking the same thing while i was reading the thread, they probably lied about the time span i guess...

[beefcake]

you kick ass, Chicken. this is great - thanks alot!

[yamakazi18]

nice, thanks! how does flathead denim compare to some of the others?

[beatle]

What a blessing ! Still wish I was the manager - but one who does'nt forget to do a 100 squads every day !

More stuff like this - plleeeaaasssseee

[annacobra]

thanks a lot, chicken, this is great. Arigato gozaimasu.

[denimdestroyedmylife]

very interesting!

something of a foregone conclusion though, huh? more activity = better wear

i hope no one was betting that the prez would have the most faded jeans

[mizanation]

thanks a lot chicken-san. you've racked up many denim-points.

i'm starting to learn kanji. NOW, i wish my parents sent me to japanese weekend school.

[poly800rock]

CHICKEN FOR PRESIDENT! now if i can only find that tag for chicken to translate to see if my NDG jeans are natural indigo...

[Chicken]

thanks again guys.

very interesting!

something of a foregone conclusion though, huh? more activity = better wear

i hope no one was betting that the prez would have the most faded jeans

i think you're absolutely right. but i personally like the sales rep denim the best out of the three. and the pres denim still has potential, too. but like some people here have pointed out, not sure if they really wore them for three years straight. otherwise, those flathead xxs are crazy stubborn denims. maybe they didn't wear them every day. doesn't say in the article, though.

[Yet Fung]

I agree on the sales rep call, It's the perfect contrast. I'd like to see that same kind of experiment happen on SF.

[HEWSINATOR]

It happens every day...Just not the same dates, but periods. It is nice to see that the evolution of jeans thread has almost turned into this.

But, I here what you are saying Yet. A super superdenim competition, with the winner decided by forum vote, and the competitors buying the winner new denims.

[prufrock]

good stuff chicken.

almost a superjunkie! go chicken! we should do a superdenim competition. that would be so sick!

[andewhall]

Awesome Chicken, really interesting post, thanks dooood. Keep em' coming

[Yet Fung]

It happens every day...Just not the same dates, but periods. It is nice to see that the evolution of jeans thread has almost turned into this.

But, I here what you are saying Yet. A super superdenim competition, with the winner decided by forum vote, and the competitors buying the winner new denims.

I'm down with a comp, just name the pair and the start date. We would definitely need like 5 people to make the prize worthwhile. I also think there probably should be some rules like:

- initial soaks/shrinking are allowed

- no starching whatsoever

- results judged on first wash at end of comp.

- no unnatural wear (don't go out of your way to run around the block or rub a brick on your thigh)

- 6 month timeline, update pics every week.

That's all I can think of without going overboard. Otherwise, we could just grab the same pair at the same time and see whose looks better in 6 months. I'm getting bored with all these "I need some advice on APC sizing" threads.

[HEWSINATOR]

In response to Yet Fung being sick of APC sizing:

Very true, but it is inebvitable. I remember when I used to be very active on an iPod forum when they "first came out." There were logical questions, and some need stuff being figured out. I now NEVER go there, as you had to sift through so much crap to find anything new and relevant. Growth is the site's demise in some respects, as new users flood in and push the knowledgeable people out.

[beatle]

Sounds great !

What Jeans should we take !!

I get to buy a new pair !!

Without feeling guilty !!

[HEWSINATOR]

Well, I think this may get more momentum behind it than we think. I think it should be a pair that are not prohibitive based on price. The problem we are going to have is people not already having the pair.

Maybe to be fair, you would get jeans in what fit you want, but make sure the denim is the same, IDK. Depends how many people are going to do it. But I think it would be neat to have enough people to make it so a prize could be in order, as I said.

[poly800rock]

I'm down with a comp, just name the pair and the start date. We would definitely need like 5 people to make the prize worthwhile. I also think there probably should be some rules like:

- initial soaks/shrinking are allowed

- no starching whatsoever

- results judged on first wash at end of comp.

- no unnatural wear (don't go out of your way to run around the block or rub a brick on your thigh)

- 6 month timeline, update pics every week.

That's all I can think of without going overboard. Otherwise, we could just grab the same pair at the same time and see whose looks better in 6 months. I'm getting bored with all these "I need some advice on APC sizing" threads.

we should have someone make us all a pair. like samauri? or andrew whall maybe? make some selvedge jawns, so we all have the same pair